The Way the Future Unfolds
by AbbytheDivergentDemigod
Summary: Even after two years, Piper McLean would never have imagined falling in love with Leo Valdez. Adopted from Jana Grace, she wrote chapters 1-4.
1. Chapter 1

_"PIPER!"_

Piper jumped and fell off the top bunk, crashing onto the floor with a groan. "What the heck, Jess?"

"Sorry." Jessica smiled sheepishly. She sat on her bed, the bottom bunk, her black hair falling over her shoulders. She was dressed in a baggy Mickey Mouse sweater and short denim shorts with black Converse sneakers. She was pretty, but didn't acknowledge it.

"Thanks for helping me up," Piper grumbled, pushing herself off the ground and pulling her hair out of the messed up ponytail she had slept in. Jess giggled.

"Well, I didn't wake you up for nothing. Let's go grab some breakfast, I hear they're running low on chocolate chip waffles so I'd really like to get a few before they run out, but Starbucks is open too, so maybe—"

"Jess?"

"Yeah?"

"Shut up."

"Okay."

Piper quickly went into the bathroom and  
changed into something she wouldn't normally wear: a white blouse, brown leather jacket with matching knee boots, dark blue skinny jeans, and dangly gold earrings.

Thanks to Jess, Piper's hair was now even and curled half the time. She even had a minor sense of fashion. Still, she refused to wear any makeup. Despite that, Piper couldn't believe what had gotten into her. She was getting closer and closer to an actual daughter of Aphrodite each  
day, and she was actually pretty scared.

"Whoa, Piper, you're a knockout." Jess grinned at her, and Piper flinched. _You're a knockout._

Jason had said that once.

Jason, the boy who left her for Reyna two years ago.

Piper shouldn't have been mad. Reyna was to Jason what Annabeth was to Percy.  
Nevertheless, Piper thought that, as a daughter of Aphrodite, she was supposed to be the dumper, not the dumpee.

All right, now she was _seriously_ scared.  
"Piper?" Jess said. "You okay?"

Piper nodded her head, gulping. "Erm, yeah, I'm good."

Jess raised an eyebrow, but shouldered her bag and stood up, sticking her keys to the dorm into her pocket. Piper grabbed her bag and followed Jess out of their dorm, locking the door.

"Sooo... you meet anybody?"Jess asked as they walked out of their dorm building.

"... huh?"

"Like did you find a guy, or... "Jess said  
awkwardly.

"No!" Piper said rather loudly, earning another raised eyebrow from Jess.

"Why so defensive?"

Piper sighed. "Well, you know that my last  
relationship didn't go well, Jason ended up—"

"Hold up," Jess said, holding up a hand. "I  
actually don't 'know'. Who's this Jason dude?"

Piper ran a hand through her hair and stared off. "It's complicated."

Jess stared at Piper, seemingly contemplated on something. Then her face brightened.

"Hey! Waffles!" She exclaimed perkily, grabbing Piper's wrist and pulling her the rest of the way to the cafeteria.

"Bipolar much..." Piper muttered, smiling as she shook her head.

While an overly-excited Jess ordered two chocolate chip waffles, Piper ditched her to go to the Starbucks they had on campus. She got an iced vanilla latte and a blueberry scone. She finished the latter immediately and sipped on her latte as  
she walked out of Starbucks, putting on her  
sunglasses.

Jess was waiting at the entrance of a cafeteria, a half-eaten waffle in her hand. She was glaring at Piper and tapping her foot angrily.

"Thanks for ditching me."

"Thanks for helping me up," Piper replied, smirking. Jess blinked, but the corners of her lips turned upward and she began to crack up with Piper.

Piper clutched her stomach as she brought her left wrist closer to her face, checking her watch. "Dang. I need to go check out my textbooks before class starts."

Jess nodded. "See ya."

"Bye." Piper walked off, her mahogany curls bouncing with each step. She was about halfway to the office when she  
bumped into somebody.

"Oh gods, sorry!"

Hold up, _gods_?

Piper looked up. A familiar-looking boy with  
messy blonde hair, striking blue eyes, and a little scar above his lip was holding out his hand.

_Holy Hera._


	2. Chapter 2

Piper took Jason's hand quickly, pulling herself up. She brushed off her jeans and straightened.

"Are you okay?" Jason asked with a worried  
expression. _He's so cute..._

Piper mentally cursed.

"Erm, yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I can buy you something like a—"

"_JASON!_" A familiar voice screamed. Piper's eyes widened behind her sunglasses. It was—

"Reyna, my girlfriend,"Jason apologized. Piper almost frowned; Jason was _still_ dating Reyna, after two years. "She's a bit cranky from the trip over here. We flew over to Long Island from San Francisco, and we just touched down here from  
Long Island."

"Ah." Piper nodded.

"Jason Grace, by the way. "Jason held out his hand, and Piper shook it, thinking up a fake name as fast as she could.

"Rebecca Jones. May I ask why are you here, exactly?"

Jason sighed, running a hand through his blonde hair. "Well, you see, my friend Leo, he misses his best friend. Hasn't seen her in two years, and we heard she went here. Leo pretty much grabbed me and some other friends and shoved us onto a plane. Umm... do you know her? Her  
name is Piper McLean."

"Nope. I've heard of her before, though. Tristan McLean's daughter, right?"

Acting came in handy.

"Yeah. Tanned skin, choppy brown hair, color-changing eyes. Really pretty. Have you seen her around?"

"Hmm... maybe once or twice, but I've never formally met her. I think I know her dorm room, though. Can I... um... meet your friends?"

Jason raised an eyebrow, but didn't reject the offer. "Sure. Come on."

Piper fell into step with Jason. Jason had asked about the school, and Piper was explaining to him when they were met with two familiar faces. Both were pretty and intimidating, one with calculating gray eyes and blonde curls. The other had obsidian eyes and long, dark hair pulled into a braid.

"Jason." Reyna sighed in relief, and for the first time, she noticed Piper. "Who's your friend?"

Jason cleared his throat. "Hey, Reyna. This is Rebecca Jones, I accidentally ran into her earlier, but she said she knows where Piper is."

"Not where Piper is," Piper corrected. Despite her acting drills, she found it awkward talking in third person. "I know her dorm, but not her current location. She could be anywhere right now."

"Right."

"Hi, Rebecca!" Annabeth said brightly, waving at her. "Nice to meet you."

Piper bit back a "I MISSED YOU SO FREAKING MUCH" and smiled. "Nice to meet you too."

"Well." Jason shoved a hand through his blonde hair and wrapped an arm around Reyna. "Let's go, then."

Piper walked alongside Annabeth, who was  
obsessing over the architecture. Piper had to admit that the architecture was pretty nice, but Annabeth was practically screaming.

"... and that building over there— oh my gosh, it's amazing! How did they build that? I need a copy of the blueprints ..."

Piper smiled to herself. Annabeth hadn't  
changed.

Annabeth continued to ask Piper about the  
architecture. Piper answered, trying to sound as excited as she could, though she wasn't particularly interested in the process people took to build that "highly complex building with the modernized roof and elaborate windows over there."

"Hey, Jason, where can I find a taco? Do you  
think they have tacos here?"

Piper froze. The voice undoubtedly came from a boy, so Annabeth and Reyna were out of the question. She highly doubted that Jason had said that.

Slowly, she turned.

Leo Valdez, dark curls unruly and brown eyes wild, stood there, five bucks in hand. "I want a taco."


	3. Chapter 3

"Hmm. I dunno where you can get a taco.  
Rebecca?"

Piper's eyes widened behind her sunglasses. "Um... uh ..."

"Hello?" It was Leo this time, arching an eyebrow.

Piper squeezed her eyes shut, exhaling before opening them again. "Yeah. The cafeteria sells tacos. They have breakfast tacos right now. Because, it's you know. Breakfast."

"Got it ..." Leo said suspiciously. "How much do they cost?"

"Erm... five bucks should be good. You got it."

"What's in them?"

"Uh. Breakfast stuff?"

"Do they taste good?"

"Well, I've never really—"

"Leo," Annabeth interrupted. "You're pestering the poor girl. I'm sure she has better things to talk about than the quality of school tacos."

"... fair enough."

Annabeth smiled and turned back to Piper. "Now, Rebecca, about those blueprints—"

"Annabeth, you're pestering the poor girl," Leo drawled, mimicking Annabeth. "I'm sure she has better things to talk about than the blueprints for school buildings."

Piper couldn't help it. She laughed. It wasn't even that funny, really, but she _had _missed Leo. And Annabeth. Percy, Frank, Hazel, even Jason and Reyna.

Leo grinned at her. "So Rebecca, huh?"

"That's my name." Piper smiled nervously

"Cute name. You're a cute girl. Wanna go out sometime?"

Piper blinked. "Uh ..."

"Leo!" Annabeth scolded. "You just met her!"

"She is cute!"

"Sorry,"Jason apologized. "He doesn't usually ask people out that early I mean, usually. Sometimes, I guess, if he really likes them, then he'll ask them out early... like in your case."

Piper blushed. "Does he really like me?"

Jason gestured toward a bickering Leo and  
Annabeth. "Well, if he's arguing with Annabeth about it, then yeah. Annabeth can be pretty scary."

"I HEARD THAT, GRACE!"

Jason blanched. "Told you."

"Annabeth isn't that bad," Reyna spoke up,  
rolling her eyes. "She can be really nice or bubbly. Like, when she's talking about architecture." Piper shrugged; she had to agree with her on that. "Watch out for Valdez, though, he's a brat."

"Hey!" Leo yelled in protest.

"It's true."

"How am I a brat?" He demanded.

"Well, for one thing, you excessively ask out girls."

"I only asked you out once!"

"Correction: you only tried to ask me out once."

"And you ended up with a broken arm," Jason added.

"Don't remind me of that, dude!"

"And you're just plain _annoying_"

"That's not a descriptive answer," Leo argued.

"You are a little annoying," Jason admitted.

"I think you have _way_ too much sugar,"  
Annabeth continued.

"Hey," Piper said gently, speaking up for the first time. "I don't think he's that bad. He seems pretty cool."

"Thank you!" Leo cried out, wrapping an arm around Piper. She blushed again.

"Yeah, well, try being stuck on a boat with him." Annabeth had crossed her arms.

"You've only known him for a few minutes." Reyna tilted her head.

"Not really," Piper muttered under her breath. She coughed and straightened. "Well, I'm sure that he has his moments."

"And you wonder why like this girl." Leo grinned at Piper again, and she smiled back. She was sure of it; she really had missed Leo. A lot. Admittedly, it was annoying that when she first saw him again, they didn't even know it was her.  
She certainly didn't intend to keep it that way. She wanted all of them to find out, to realize it was her, eventually, but maybe she could play around with them for a while.

How would they react when they found out? Would they be happy? Surprised? Angry, possibly, that she'd been messing around with them?

Maybe she just had to wait to see the way the future unfolds.


	4. Chapter 4

"Pretty good taco."

Piper laughed. "I heard."

Leo wiped his hands off, staring at the empty plate. "...hey, Rebecca, you got five bucks?"

"Leo, you are not getting a third taco."

Leo's face went blank. "Okay."

It took Piper too long to realize what she had done.

Annabeth froze, dropping her fork. Slowly, she looked up, staring quizzically at Piper. "... Rebecca. Quick question. Erm... how did you do that, exactly?"

"Do what?" Piper asked, as convincingly as possible.

"You just... how did you do that? How did you make him do what you want?"

"Oh I dunno. It's kind of a gift. My mom, you see, we're _very_ close, she said that I'd been able to do that for a long time. I'm very convincing, apparently ..." She put emphasis on the _very _part,just in case Annabeth got suspicious. Sometimes, Piper feared the girl was too intelligent for her own good. Annabeth's eyebrow rose higher, and Piper caught her breath.

"Huh. Cool talent. Reminds me of my friend Piper, you know, the one we're looking for? Yeah, she had a waywith words. Definitely had a way with words." Annabeth shrugged and went back  
to eating her waffle.

Piper relaxed.

"So, Rebecca." Leo leaned back in his chair and draped an arm around Piper's shoulder, making her blush. Annabeth must have seen it; she grinned at Piper, winking. "What's this school all about? Jacob's School for the Perforated Apes?"

Piper choked on her orange juice, coughing. Leo looked surprised and jumped back initially, though he seemed to realize what was happening, and patted Piper's back. "What happened?"

Piper coughed one more time, but it turned into a laugh. "I'm sorry, that as funny. lt's Johnson's School for the Performing Arts, actually—"

"I'm pretty sure he knew it was called that, he'just decided to be an idiot right about now," Reyna supplied.

"Hey!"

Piper smiled again, shaking her head. "Anyway, it's obviously a school for the performing arts. You can be an actor, a singer, a dancer, a musician that stuff. Like Juilliard, but less popular. And in Florida. How'd you guys get here?"

Jason grinned. "We have a friend."

Piper grinned back, internally. Hazel must have manipulated the mist. "Ah, okay."

"Some of us got in on pure talent. Like Percy." Annabeth beamed, and before she could stop herself, Piper asked how Percy, of all people, managed to actually get into the school.

When the other four questioned her, she tried her best to make up an excuse. "I mean, you know. What did he do? What's he good at? I'm always looking for new actors! I think we're actually lacking them ..."

"Percy is actually a really good singer. I think he inherited it from one of his relatives ..."Jason shared a knowing look with Annabeth.

Thank the gods for improv.

Truthfully, Piper wished she could reveal herself then and there. She wanted them to know it was her, she wanted to see their reactions, she wanted them to share everything that's happened over the past two years. Yet, she felt like she needed more time. Maybe she just wanted to play around with them for a bit. She wasn't entirely sure about the whole thing. "Hey, Pipe-"

Piper hipped around and wrapped her arms around the mouth of her roommate, who screamed in response.

"Jess, shh!" Piper nodded rapidly, motioning toward Piper's hands. Her blue eyes screamed, _get your hands off my mouth!_

"Sorry," Piper said sheepishly, turning back toward Leo, Annabeth, Reyna, and Jason. The boys, being themselves, looked utterly dumbfounded, while the girls, being themselves, both had a critical eyebrow raised.

"Um excuse us for minute?" Piper asked. Annabeth nodded slowly, and Piper grabbed Jess' arm, pulling her away.

"What the heck was that about?"Jess demanded.

Piper sighed, fixing her curls. "It's a long story-"

"I want to know!"

"Those are my friends, okay? They're my really good friends, and I haven't seen them in a year, but I don't want them to realize it's me, so I took a fake name- Rebecca, if you were wondering - and when you said my name I freaked out."

"... that's not a very long story."

"Oh, shut u!"

"Why don't you want them to know it's you?"

"I don't know, I just don't!"

"... good thing you were wearing sunglasses, then."

"Eh."

"The Latino boy is cute. You know, the one with the curly dark hair and brown eyes? What's his name?"

"Leo." Piper bit her lip, resisting the urge to say 'back off."


	5. Chapter 5

Piper and Jess walked back to the others. "Sorry about that," Piper apologized. "This is my friend and roommate, Jess."

"Nice to meet you." Jess said. Annabeth stood.

"Hi, Jess. I'm Annabeth, and this is my boyfriend Percy, my friend Reyna, and her boyfriend, Jason." Jess nodded, and Piper breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"So, we should get going, Rebecca." Reyna said.

"Going?" Jess asked.

"Yeah." Piper said. "They were looking for Piper McLean, and I was going to take them to her room." She stood up and lead them towards the dorms, thinking furiously about what she should do.

Around halfway there a girl stopped and turned to Piper. She groaned internally. Wendy Della, the most popular girl at school and basically a second Drew. Piper had embarrassed her when they'd first met, and since then they'd been enemies.

"Is something wrong, Rebecca?" Annabeth asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." She lied lamely, cursing herself for letting her worry show on her face. Wendy stood in front of her.

"Hello." She said, smiling sickly.

"Hi, Wendy." Piper replied. "What do you want?" She shrugged.

"I didn't recognize your friends, and I was wondering who they are and what they're doing here." She said, nosy as always.

"Oh, well we just met." Reyna said. "Leo here wanted to visit a friend of his, and she was taking us to find her room."

"I see."

"Well, we should probably get going." Jess said cheerfully, grabbing Piper's hand.

"Of course." Wendy replied. "See you later, Jess, Piper." Piper winced. Leo stopped short.

"What did you call her?" He asked.

"Piper, of course." She said, looking at him strangely.

"Piper..." Annabeth turned to Piper.

Uh oh. This was not good. "Annabeth, I..."

"Piper, why did you say your name was Rebecca?" Jason asked.

"What are you weirdos even talking about?" Wendy said.

"This isn't any of your business, Wendy." Jess snapped. "Leave us alone." Wendy tossed her hair.

"If you people weren't idiots like this I wouldn't mess with you." She said, walking off."

"Piper, are you seriously still mad about Jason breaking up with you?' Reyna said. "Can't you start acting your age and get rid of the grudge?"

"I... it's not..." Why had she even gotten herself into this?

"It's not what?" Leo asked. "'Cause it sounds a lot like you were lying to your friends, you know, us. The ones that risked our lives to save you."

"That risked what?" Jess asked.

"Just... just leave me alone!" She said angrily. "Especially you, Jason. Why did you even come?"

"Piper-" he began, but she cut him off. "I don't want to hear your excuses! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get my textbooks."

Piper and Jess walked back to the others. "Sorry about that," Piper apologized. "This is my friend and roommate, Jess."

"Nice to meet you." Jess said. Annabeth stood.

"Hi, Jess. I'm Annabeth, and this is my boyfriend Percy, my friend Reyna, and her boyfriend, Jason." Jess nodded, and Piper breathed an inward sigh of relief.

"So, we should get going, Rebecca." Reyna said.

"Going?" Jess asked.

"Yeah." Piper said. "They were looking for Piper McLean, and I was going to take them to her room." She stood up and lead them towards the dorms, thinking furiously about what she should do.

Around halfway there a girl stopped and turned to Piper. She groaned internally. Wendy Della, the most popular girl at school and basically a second Drew. Piper had embarrassed her when they'd first met, and since then they'd been enemies.

"Is something wrong, Rebecca?" Annabeth asked.

"Huh? Oh, it's nothing." She lied lamely, cursing herself for letting her worry show on her face. Wendy stood in front of her.

"Hello." She said, smiling sickly.

"Hi, Wendy." Piper replied. "What do you want?" She shrugged.

"I didn't recognize your friends, and I was wondering who they are and what they're doing here." She said, nosy as always.

"Oh, well we just met." Reyna said. "Leo here wanted to visit a friend of his, and she was taking us to find her room."

"I see."

"Well, we should probably get going." Jess said cheerfully, grabbing Piper's hand.

"Of course." Wendy replied. "See you later, Jess, Piper." Piper winced. Leo stopped short.

"What did you call her?" He asked.

"Piper, of course." She said, looking at him strangely.

"Piper..." Annabeth turned to Piper.

Uh oh. This was not good. "Annabeth, I..."

"Piper, why did you say your name was Rebecca?" Jason asked.

"What are you weirdos even talking about?" Wendy said.

"This isn't any of your business, Wendy." Jess snapped. "Leave us alone." Wendy tossed her hair.

"If you people weren't idiots like this I wouldn't mess with you." She said, walking off."

"Piper, are you seriously still mad about Jason breaking up with you?' Reyna said. "Can't you start acting your age and get rid of the grudge?"

"I... it's not..." Why had she even gotten herself into this?

"It's not what?" Leo asked. "'Cause it sounds a lot like you were lying to your friends, you know, us. The ones that risked our lives to save you."

"That risked what?" Jess asked.

"Just... just leave me alone!" She said angrily. "Especially you, Jason. Why did you even come?"

"Piper-" he began, but she cut him off. "I don't want to hear your excuses! Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go get my textbooks."

Upset and angry, Piper started towards the office, when someone called her name.

"Piper!" She looked back. It was Jason.

"What do you want?" She demanded. "To criticize me? Insult me?"

"No, of course not." He said. "I don't blame you." She raised her eyebrows in surprise— that was definitely not that she'd expected.

"You don't?"

"No," he said. Look, Piper, I know I hurt you, and I'm sorry. I love Reyna. But... can we still be friends?" Their eyes locked. Blue and kaleidoscope. And it was Piper who looked away first.

"Friends." She said simply, emotions rising and falling. And with that one word she went on to get her books.

But it still echoed in her mind. Friends. Friends. For better or for worse, she and Jason were friends again.

**My first chapter! Good, bad, or okay?**

**~AbbytheDivergentDemigod**


End file.
